What Are the Gospels?

Our Lord promised certain of the disciples who were with him in his ministry that after he returned to his Father the Holy Ghost would come upon them. Then that holy Spirit Personage, he promised, would bring all that the Master had said and done to their remembrance, would teach them all things, and would guide them to all truth. (John 14:26; John 15:26-27; John 16:7-15.) The Holy Ghost, Jesus said, "shall testify of me." Then came the command: "And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning." (John 15:26-27.)

On another occasion, after reminding them of the events of his ministry and of the great atoning sacrifice which he had worked out, he solemnly reminded: "And ye are witnesses of these things." (Luke 24:48.) And finally, as he stood ready to ascend in glory to his Father, he bestowed this assurance and benediction: "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." (Acts 1:8.)

True to the divine injunction, these apostolic ministers were witnesses. They bore testimony of our Lord, of his birth, life, ministry, teachings, death, and atoning sacrifice. They testified of the salvation that is available in and through his name. Some recorded their testimonies. Such of these authentic and true written accounts as have been preserved to this day are called (in the language of the Inspired Version of the Bible) the testimony of Matthew, the testimony of Mark, the testimony of Luke, and the testimony of John. Because these testimonies bear record of Him whose life, teachings, and mission are the center and core of the whole gospel plan, and because they deal with the gospel or glad tidings which he preached, they are known as the gospels, or the gospels according to Matthew, Mark, and the others.

"Many volumes have been written by the scholars of the world analyzing, comparing, dissecting, and criticizing the gospels. As is always the case when 'the things of God' are subjected to evaluation by 'the spirit of man' (1 Corinthians 2:11-16), the conclusions reached are, in the main, false, speculative, and destructive of faith.

"It is true that the four New Testament gospels do present different aspects of our Lord's personality and teachings. It appears that Matthew was directing his gospel to the Jews. He presents Christ as the promised Messiah and Christianity as the fulfilment of Judaism. Mark apparently wrote with the aim of appealing to the Roman or Gentile mind. Luke's gospel presents the Master to the Greeks, to those of culture and refinement. And the gospel of John is the account for the saints; it is pre-eminently the gospel for the Church, for those who understand the scriptures and their symbolisms and who are concerned with spiritual and eternal things. Obviously such varying approaches have the great advantage of presenting the truths of salvation to people of different cultures, backgrounds, and experiences But the simple fact is that all of the gospel authors wrote by inspiration, and all had the same purposes: 1. To testify of the divine Sonship of our Lord; and 2. To teach the truths of the plan of salvation." (Mormon Doctrine, p. 307.)